Rotating mechanism



Aug. l, i933. L. L. WEAVER ROTATING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 6, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet l VE/V TUR Y L.. LV1/EA VER B ATTURNEY Ffa-1 Sk 29'* a Aug.l, 1933. l.. WEAVER ROTATING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 6, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet2 /NVEA/TQR L L.WEA VER A T TORNE Y Patented Aug.' l, 1933 UNHTEQ STATESipzmzzi Leo L. Weaver, Cranford, N. il., assigner to Western ElectricCompany, incorporated, New York, N. Y., a Corporation of New Yori:

Application October 6, 1930. Serial No. 486,659

i9 claims. (ci. esi-17e.)

This invention relates to rotating mechanisms and more partcularly torotating mechanisms of the strand handling type, such as capstans.t

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple and ecientmechanism for hanfdling a length of material.

The invention contemplates the provision of a rotating capstan, amaterial or strand-bearing surface of which is composed of a number oftransverse individually driven rollers disposed peripherally around thecapstan. Essentially, the rollers are so disposed with respect to theaxis of the strand that the latter is thereby passed across the face ofthe rollers and discharged from the capstan at the opposite side thereoffrom that on which the strand is received, Without chaiing or otherwisedeleteriously affecting the strand or its movement.

lin a preferred embodiment, the axis of the strand is caused to beinclined with respect to the element of a cylindrical roller, that is,the generatrix of the strand-engaging surface of the roller, byadvancing the strand to the capstan in such manner that the axis of thestrandl extends substantially at a right angle with the axis of thecapstan, and so positioning each of a plurality of cylindrical rollersin the capstan that the elements thereof are inclined with respect tothe axis of the strand. In a inodiiica- 3@ tion, the individual rollersare peripherally grooved so that a strand being advanced by the capstanwill be accommodated in the grooves of the rollers and passed across thecapstan with out deleterious frictional effects. ln another form theaxes and elements of the cylindrical rollers and the capstan areparallel, and the strand is so guided that it approaches the rollerswith the necessary angular inclination with re- Cgi spect to theelements thereof. In a fourth form,

the rollers are conical in shape, and the strand is so guided theretothat the axis of-the strand makes an angle with the element of theroller so as to pass the strand across the face of the roller, and in sopassing the strand is stretched or permitted to shrink, as the case maybe,

While being carried by the capstan by introducing the strand to thesmaller or larger ends, re-

spectively, of the conical rollers.

A better understanding of the invention may be had from a considefationof the following detailed description, read in connection with theaccompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which Fig. 1 is afragmentary schematic View in elevation of a braiding machine employinga capstan embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevation of the capstan shown inFig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional View taken. on @9 the line 3 3 of Fig.2: Y

Fig. e is an elevation of an alternative form of roller which may beemployed;

Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig. i 'showing a modified form ofcapstan embodying the in G5 vention, and

Fig. 6 is a vier'.r corresponding to 3 and showing another form ofcapstan embodying the invention.

Referring to the drawings, wherein simiiai' Y@ parts are indicated byidentical reference nue merels, a frame l0' and braiding head il of aconventional braiding machine are surmounted by a capstan l2. Braidthreads l5, l5 are drawn from supply spools i6, 16 carried by the headto 75 provide a covering for a pair of conductors :iS- 18, to form aconductor cord 12. An. adjustable sleeve 2G, having an eccentricallylocated bore 2l, is formed in the frame 10 above the head, the cord 19passing axially through the bore as the cord E@ is drawn from the headby the capstan l2 when the latter rotates in a clockwise direction, asindicated by the arrow in Fig. l. The adjustable sleeve 2o serves as acontrol means or guide for the braided cord and serves, as by turningthe bore 2l with respect to the braiding head and the capstan, to insurethat the cord contacts With the surface of the capstan at a proper gieof approach.

The capstan comprises (Fig. 3) a rotative in ternal core or base member22 having at one end thereof a relatively enlarged disc portion 23 whichforms one side of the capstan l2. A disc 26, of substantially the samecircumference as the disc 23, forms the other side of the oapstan. Thebase member 22 is provided with a recess 2'7, which is internallythreaded to receive a threaded bolt 28 which extends through a suitableaper= ture 29 in the disc 26, thereby rigidly securing the latter to therotative base member 22. Thebase member 22 is provided with an axiallydisposed aperture 30 through Which extends a driv ing shaft 31. It willbe understood that the base memberis keyed to the shaft 3l so as toinsure its rotation therewith, and in order to secure the base member inproper position on the shaft 31 any suitable locking collar 32 issecured to the outer end of the shaft 31 beyond the disc 26.

The bearing surface of the capstan consists of a plurality of rollers34, 34 (in the present Sli embodiments l2 of such being shown) which aredisposed peripherally .around the capstan at stantially circular capstansurface for the strand 19 passing thereover. Each roller-,34 is suitablysecured upon an axially extending projecting shaft which is journalledat one end in spaced 'apertures 36, 36 in the disc 26, and in the discportion 23 in suitable spaced apertures 38, 38. In the preferredembodiment, as may be observed in Fig. 3, the rollers 34 are cylindricaland the elements and axes thereof are skewed or angularly disposed withrespect to the axis of the group as assembled in the capstan to theextent that one end of each roller, namely, that adjacent the disc 23,is advanced slightly, in terms of the direction of 'rotation'of thecapstan, beyond the other end which is journalled in the disc 26; bothends of the roller, however, being equidistant from the axis of thecapstan. The reason for thus skewing or inclining the rollers is toinsure that the axis of the strand 19, in engaging therewith, shall makean angular intersection or angle of approach of other than 90 with theelements of each roller. Under such circumstances, when the rollers arepositively and individually driven, the strand will be passed across theface of the capstan in the direction of the acute angle of approachbetween the strand and the elements of the roller.

A bracket 39 secured upon the top of the frame 10 supports the capstan12 and is provided with l an aperture 40 in which the shaft 31 extends.

` provided with a number of spaced peri f The inner end of the shaft 31projects beyond the bracket and at its extremity is provided with asprocket 42 (Fig. 2). A stationary gear 43 on the bracket projects uponthe base member 22, the peripheral teeth dfi thereof meshing with aplurality of gears 46, one such gear being secured to the inner end ofeach of the roller shafts 35. In order to properly maintain said gearsin position with respect to the stationary gear 43, each gear 43 isprovided with a collar Al'l and a suitable set screw or pin 48 whichengages the shaft 35. The disc portion 23 is provided with an externalperipheral annular flange 5U which projects over the gears 4:6, /lG toform a housing therefor and is provided with a circular guard disc 52suitably secured thereto. The guard disc 52 is provided with a central.aperture 5tlfor accommodating the bracket 39.

The sprocket l2 of the capstan shaft is by a chain 55 operated from anysuitable source of power (not shown) to rotate the capstan, and thestrand thereby discharged from the capstan passes to a guide pulley 56.iIhe guide pulley carries a collar 63 and is revolvably mounted on ashaft 62 which is secured on the :trame i and Al grooves 64 with one ofwhich the collar 83 en gages to position the pulley 56 with respect tothe rollers 34. From the pulley 56, the strand passes to a conventionaltake-up reel 53 which receives the cord 1 9 for storage, pending furtherdisposition thereof.

In operation the braided cord i9 is drawn upwardly through the sleeve 20by the capstan l2. The strand is wrapped any desired number of timesaround the capstan, vin the present instance three turns thereof lbeingmade. The braided covering of telephone cords, while substantial enoughto withstand service conditions, is usually composed of light weightthread and liable to injury if it should be drawn tightly around theordinary conical type of capstan, wherein preceding turns of the strandmay be forced sidewise across the surface of the capstan by succeedingturns, resulting at times in a tendency to side chang between adjacentstrands, scraping of the strand on the surface of the conductor andother deleterious effects of such frictional contact. It is thereforedesirable that a type of capstan be employed which is of such aconstruction as to afford the necessary snubbing action between theIstrand and the capstan surface to cause the strand to be pulledsteadily and without jerking, while at thesame time moving the strandacross the face of the capstan without frictional wear. For sundryreasons, it is also frequently desirable to control the spacing betweenadjacent turns of the strand on the capstan in order that strands may ormay not as desired abut with adjacent strands.

By causing the roller-supporting apertures in the disc portion 23 to beadvanced slightly beyond the corresponding apertures in the disc 26, theaxes andV elements of the cylindrical rollers 34 are inclined withrespect to the axis of the shaft 31, thus causing the strand, upon firstengaging the capstan, to meet the peripheral surface of one of therollers 34 adjacent the right-hand end thereof at an angle other than aright angle with the axis and element of the roller, as shown in Fig. 3,and to be continually carried across the face of the rotating capstandue to the positive rotation of the individual rollers.

In considering the project of separating adjacent turns of the strandwhile they are being advanced across the face of the capstan, it shouldbe borne in mind that the pitch or inclination of an element of theroller with respect to the axis of the strand must, at all times, besufcient to advance the strand across the roller a distance equivalentat least to the diameter of the strand for one revolution of the group.This is done in order to prevent the strand piling upon the capstan atthe point of initial engagement therewith. The space produced betweenadjacent strands depends on the rate of travel of' the more in order tomove the strand across the 'i-U roller a distance in excess of thediameter of the strand for each revolution of the group. In thisconnection it will be observed (Fig. 3) that the inclination of therollers is such as to advance the strand across the roller a distanceequivalent to at least twice the diameter of the strand for eachrevolution of the group.

In the handling of extremely :Fine strands havw ing more or lessdelicate surfaces, strands having viscous coatings, or otherwise 'whereconditions warrant it, each roller 34 of the capstan may be providedwith a helical groove 59, as shown in Fig. ll, in which the strand restsduring its advancement by the capstan. Since the effect of the groovedroller is, like the plain roller In order, therefore, to

lll)

of the strand in passing over a capstan the surface of which is composedof a number of grooved rollers, might correspond with the path which astrand of the same diameter would follow in passing across a similarcapstan having an equal number of plain rollers, except that allowancemust be made for the fact that in travelling in the groove, the path ofthe strand around the capstan is relatively shortened.

When the rotation of the rollers 34 is, as indicated by the gearingarrangement as shown in Fig. 3, in the same direction (clockwise) as lsthe rotation of the capstan, it will be obvious that the strand, sinceit is advanced both by the capstan and the individual rollers,willtravel at a linear speed greater than the surface speed of thecapstan, the speed forward of the strand being the algebraic sum of thesurface speed of the group and the surface speed of a roller 34 withrespect to the group. Where it may be desirable to forward the strand ata speed less than that of the capstan, a modified apparatus, as shown inFig. 5, may be employed. An additional gear 61 is interposed between thestationary gear 43 and the individual roller gears 46, thus causing theindividual rotation of the rollers to be in a direction opposite to thattravelled by the group, the surface speed of the roller 34 being thusrendered a minus quantity instead of a plus quantity in the algebraicsum above referred to, and the forward speed of the conductorcorrespondingly slow. When this arrangement is used the rollers 34 neednot be inclined with respect to the axis Yof the capstan to avoidfrictional wear between the strand and the capstan. Instead, theapertures 38 in the disc portion 23 may be diametrically opposite theapertures 36 of the disc 26, and the rollers mounted therein to beparallel with the axis of the capstan. When this is done, the correctangle of approach between the strand and the roller element may besecured by adjusting the guide pulley 56 on the shaft 62.

In the treatment of certain types of strand material, it is desired tostretch the strand as it is being advanced by the capstan; orconversely, to

advance the strand by the capstan as the strand is undergoing elongationdueto some inherent or extraneous agency. A modified capstan suitablefor such a purpose is shown in Fig. 6, wherein it will be noted that therollers 34 are frustro-conical in shape. As in the arrangement in Fig. 3the rollers are rotated in the same direction as the capstan, the innerends of' the shafts 35 being advanced beyond the outer ends thereofcarried in the disc 26. By thus inclining the shafts so that theelements of the rollers are inclined with respect to the axis of thestrand, the strand is passed across the rollers from the inner to theouter sides of the capstan. Due, however, to the fact that the strand isconstantly urged in an opposite direction by reason of the inclinationof the conical surface of the roller, .the strand would tend toconstantly slip backwardly toward the small end of the rollers if theends of each roller shaft were equidistant from the axis of the capstan.n order to overcome this tendency and permit the passing of the strandacross the rollers due tothe inclination of the shafts 35 pointed outabove, the shafts are also inclined in the other plane so that the endsof each roller are no longer equidistant from the axis of the capstan asin Fig. 3. but the end in the disc 26 is disposed nearer to the axisthan the opposite end. It is noteworthy that since the outer ends of theshafts are thus nearer to the axis of the capstan, the surface speed ,ofthe group at that end is no faster than the surface speed of the groupat the end where the shafts 35 are further removed from the capstanaxis. Due, however, to the frustro-conical shape of the rollers, the endof each roller nearest the disc 26 has a substantially greaterindividual surface speed than the small end of the rollers. It will beapparent then, that a strand iirst engaging the smaller end of therollers and being passed across the capstan to the larger end of therollers due to the advancement of the smaller end of the rollers beyondthe larger end of the rollers, continually is advanced upon a surfacethe speed of which is increasing so that the speed of the strand isconstantly increased as it approaches the larger end of the rollers.Consequently, the strand is discharged from the capstan at asubstantiallyhigher rate of speed than it is received thereon at thesmaller end of the rollers, thus causing a substantial elongation orstretching in the strand as it is being advanced by 'the capstan. Byreversing the condition in the capstan shown in Fig. 6, it is possibleto advance the stand by the capstan while permitting its shrinkage.

What is claimed is:

1. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotative member, a roller mountedtherein, the axis of the roller being angularly disposed with respect tothe axis of the strand.

2. in an apparatus for handling a strand, a rotative carrier, anunbroken roller mounted in the carrier for bearing the strand, anelement of the strand engaging the surface of the roller being disposedat an angle other than a right angle with the axis of the roller, andmeans for predetermining the angle of engagement between the roller andthe strand.

3. The combination of a rotative member, a grooved roller mountedtherein, the axis of the roller being angularly disposed with respect tothe axis of the member, and means for rotating the roller and themember.

4. A capstan, including an axial rotative member, and a rotative strandbearing roller having a helically grooved surface mounted therein andinclined with respect to the strand so that the latter, upon engagingthe roller at one sidel of the capstan, will be advanced along itslongitudinal axis and carried axially of the capstan without slidingfriction between the strand and the roller.

5. The combination of a rotative member, a roller mounted therein, theroller being angularly disposed with respect to the axis of the member,and means for rotating the roller and the member with respect to eachother.

6. The combination of a rotative member, a plurality of rotatablerollers mounted therein longitudinally of the member, the ends of eachroller being equidistant from the axisof the member and the axes of therollers being angularly disposed with respect to the axis of the member,and means for rotating the member and the rollers.

7. The combination of a rotative member, a plurality of rotatablerollers mounted therein longitudinally ofthe member, the axes of therollers being angularly disposed with respect to the axis of the member,a shaft secured to the member, driving means thereon for rotating themember, and means for rotating the rollers individually.

8. The combination of a rotative member, a plurality of rotatablerollers mounted therein longitudinally of the member, the axes of therollers being angularly disposed with respect to the axis of the member,a supporting bracket for the member, a shaft secured to the member,driving means thereon for rotating the member, and a stationary gear onthe supporting bracket for rotating the rollers individually.

9. The combination oi a rotative member, a plurality of rotatablerollers mounted therein longitudinally of the member, the axes of therollers being angularly disposed with respect to the axis of the member,a supporting bracket for the member, a shaft secured to the member,driving means thereon for rotating the member, a stationary gear on thesupporting bracket, and a gear carried by each of the rollers andmeshing with the stationary gear for rotating the rollers with respectto the member.

10. In a strand handling apparatus. a capstan for the strand, a rotativebase member for the capstan, a disc at each end thereof and rotatabletherewith, means for supporting the capstan, a stationary gear on thesupporting means, a roller mounted in the disc, and a gear meshing withthe stationary gear for rotating the roller individually with respect tothe capstan during the cap. stans rotation to provide a substantiallyfrictionless bearing surface for the strand.

11. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotative member, a roller mountedtherein, the axis of the roller being angularly disposed with respecttothe axis oi the strand, means for driving the rotative member, andmeans for simultaneously rotating the roller in a direction opposite tothat in which the member is driven.

12. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotative member, guide means forthe strand, a roller mounted in the rotative member, the axis of theroller being angularly disposed with respect to the axis of the strand,guide means for receiving the strand discharged from the roller, andmeans for rotating the member and the roller individually.

13. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotative member, a conical rollermounted therein, and

means for rotating the member and the roller individually.

14. In a strand handling apparatus, a capstan for advancing the strand,a conical strand bearing roller mounted in the capstan, means fordriving the capstan and the roller individually, and means forcontrolling the angle of engagement between the strand and the roller.

15. The combination of a rotative member, a conical roller mountedtherein, the axis of the conical roller being angularly disposed with respect to the axis of the member, and means for rotating the, roller andthe member.

16. In a strand advancing capstan, a plurality of rollers mounted in theperiphery of the capstan, a shaft secured to the capstan, driving meansaffixed to the shaft for rotating the capstan, and driving meansfastened to the rotative shaft :for rotating the rollers.

1'?. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotative member, a roller mountedtherein, the axis of the roller being parallel to the axis of themember, a supporting bracket, a stationary gear on the bracket, a gearcarried by each of the rollers, and a gear intermediate the stationarygear and the gear of each roller for rotating the rollers in a directionopposite to that in which the member is driven.

18. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotatable member, a roller mountedtherein, the axis of the roller being angularly disposed with respect tothe axis of the member.

19. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotatable member, an actuatortherefor, a roller mounted in the member, the axis of the roller beingangularly disposed with respect to the axis of the member for advancingthe strand along its longitudinal axis and simultaneously moving itaxially thereof, and means actuated by the member for rotating theroller.

LEO L. WEAVER.

